“The Pumpkin ” Handcraft Chinese Yixing Clay Teapot

The Pumpkin Yixing duan clay teapot, 180ml

The Pumpkin is a handmade Yixing clay teapot for gongfu brewing, shaped as a ripe pumpkin, ribbed from stem to base. The body is duan clay under a zhuni slip, which gives the deep red, while the spout, handle and knob are left in bare sandy duan. At 180ml it pours three or four small cups an infusion, a little more than a 150ml pot.

Pouring from it, you hold a length of vine. The side handle is modelled as vine with the knot showing, the spout is a furled pumpkin leaf, and the knob is the stem with the air hole in it. The lid sits flush with the ribs. Shaped by hand, so the ribs and leaf vary a little.

Inside, the clay is bare and unglazed, so it takes on your tea. We'd keep it to one kind and use it often; after a few months it starts to season. The same leaves give six or seven steeps, enough for one or two people.

Product details

• Capacity: 180ml
• Clay: Yixing duan, zhuni slip over the body, unglazed inside
• Form: hand-shaped ribbed pumpkin, leaf spout, stem knob, vine handle
• Origin: Yixing, Jiangsu Province, China
• In the box: gift box, certificate, brocade tie, tea cloth, pot mat, pot cord
• Use: brewing only, not for a stovetop or open flame

This works well for

• Dedicating to one tea and letting the pot season
• A first Yixing pot, with room to try a few teas before you settle
• Gongfu sessions for one or two

A note from Joanne

Duan is the clay I suggest for a first Yixing pot. It doesn't push the tea in any one direction the way some clays do, so you can try a few things before you dedicate it. Once you settle, the pot builds up, and that's when Yixing gets interesting.

It's on the shelf at our Salamanca Tea Bar in Hobart. The ribs are worth seeing in the hand.

Seasoning your new Yixing teapot

Rinse with warm water, then simmer in a pot of water with a cloth underneath for 30 to 60 minutes. Fill with a strong brew of the tea you'll dedicate it to, leave 24 hours, rinse and air dry.

Care

No soap on the clay. Rinse with hot water after each session and air dry.

Shipping

Ships from Hobart, Tasmania. Free shipping on orders over $95 Australia-wide. It's wrapped in foam and boxed.

Related

Chinese Yixing Clay Teapots · Teapots